Sounding the alarm over cutbacks to Qld organisation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health

May 21, 2012 – 6:28 pm, by Melissa Sweet
   

It seems that some high-need areas are being targeted for cuts by the new Queensland Government. The prison advocacy group Sisters Inside has been in the news over its concerns about the future of services to women inside Townsville Women’s Correctional Centre (TWCC) – most of whom are Indigenous.

As the tweet below suggests, there are also concerns about plans to cut funding for Healthy Communities, or QAHC, an organisation that promotes the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Queenslanders (although the Qld branch of the AMA reportedly supports the funding cut).

In the article below, Daniel Reeders, a senior project worker in multicultural HIV, sexual health and viral hepatitis prevention in Melbourne – and blogger, warns that the “shortsighted” move will have devastating consequences for public health.

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This cut is about politics, not public health

Daniel Reeders writes:

The LNP decision to de-fund the Queensland Association for Healthy Communities (QAHC) is deeply short-sighted.

Health Minister Lawrence Springborg says the QAHC shift to advocacy around health for LGBT communities shows the agency has “lost its way”, and he wants to fund a single-issue AIDS council doing HIV prevention alone.

His statement also says that infection rates show the agency failing in its mission.  Both claims betray an embarrassing ignorance about HIV prevention.

Three decades ago Australia and America made different choices on how to configure their HIV epidemic responses.  America made it a public health issue; Australia made it a community health issue.

Now, cities like San Francisco are reporting 25% HIV prevalence among gay men (Schwarcz et al, 2007).  In Queensland, prevalence is around 8.8% (Lee et al, 2011). Tell us again, Minister Springborg, how that constitutes failure?

The other claim deserves closer interrogation.  It seems reasonable enough, if you’re funding someone to do HIV prevention, to want them to focus on that.  How does advocacy around LGBT health issues, like preventing of bullying in schools, youth suicide, domestic violence, help in preventing HIV infections? Read More »

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What has social media got to do with blood transfusions, haematology and the like?

May 21, 2012 – 5:51 pm, by Melissa Sweet
   

How might social media help those working in haematology and blood transfusion services and research?

This was one of the questions addressed at a recent Australian Red Cross Blood service meeting in Sydney by Carolyn Der Vartanian, Program Leader for the NSW Blood Watch program at the Clinical Excellence Commission.

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Scary new pathogens or a communications revolution?

Carolyn Der Vartanian writes:

At the annual Australian Red Cross Blood Service scientific meeting held in Sydney recently, all things blood were up for discussion. Issues around the possibilities of emerging infectious disease in our blood system, adverse events in blood donors, the new and ground-breaking Patient Blood Management Guidelines, new trends in haemophilia and Hepatitis B and what constitutes ideal transfusion practice were all discussed.

Under the theme of “Influencing Clinician Behaviour” my presentation on social media was wedged between a talk about a terrific and popular national e-Learning program, and a very effective ‘educational visiting’ initiative between the South Australian Drug and Therapeutic Information Service and GP’s about the pre-operative management of patients with iron deficiency anaemia.

I assumed a novice audience – however a show of hands indicated more than half have a Facebook account, less were on Twitter, and no one thought social media was a passing fad (what a relief!), but a majority could not access social media applications from their work computers. A small number had used social media tools in a professional or work-related capacity.

Read More »

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Some developments and opportunities in health and the media

May 21, 2012 – 4:26 pm, by Melissa Sweet
   

Below are details of some opportunities and developments in media and health:

• A US course that aims to help journalists and editors do a better job of reporting on medical research (I have been assured that Australian journalists are welcome to apply).

• A call for applications for the 2012 Dart Center Ochberg Fellowships (Declaration: undertaking this fellowship provided a welcome boost for my own professional development).

• The launch of a new rural health TV channel.

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 Invitation to apply to a National Institutes of Health course: The Challenge of Reporting on Medical Research 

The Office of Disease Prevention at the NIH presents its annual training opportunity to help develop the ability of journalists and editors to evaluate and report on medical research.

The course stresses an evidence-based approach and re-examines common beliefs about medicine. Participants learn how to interpret and evaluate research findings, how to select stories that hold meaning for the public, and how to place a science story in its appropriate context.

 

 

 

 

 

Applications close June 1. Read More »

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Introducing a wealth of ideas for new online health-related publications

May 16, 2012 – 8:11 pm, by Melissa Sweet
   

Entrepreneurs and philanthropists take note: below are some terrific ideas for new health-related online publications.

Croakey recently put out a call on behalf of the Public Interest Journalism Foundation for ideas for online publications covering health-related areas of need.

One of the pitches will be developed during a session at the New News conference, which will again be held as part of the Melbourne Writers Festival, on August 24 and 25.

Many interesting and useful suggestions – ranging from global to specific issues – have landed. They cover:

  • Web 2 and health
  • climate change and health
  • health inequalities and the social determinants of health (two pitches)
  • deafness
  • rural health
  • the food chain
  • public health and law
  • sexuality and young people
  • watchdog for health/welfare claims
  • primary health care
  • overdiagnosis
  • sports injuries prevention
  • non-pharma interventions for people with dementia
  • women with disabilities who experience violence
  • rural medical careers guide
  • humanism and medicine
  • vasculitis.

For those interested in pursuing any of these concepts, there may be some inspiration in this Reporting on Health article about how Kickstarter, a platform for funding of creative projects, raised $US140,000 in a month to start Matter, a website for investigative reporting on science and technology.

The pitches for the New News session, as outlined below, were to explain:

1. the publication’s focus
2. why it is an area of need that might benefit from having an online focus
3. the publication’s main audience.

On related themes, this post about the future of news by software developer Stijn Debrouwere is worth reading, even if you have no particular interest in journalism – many of the issues he raises have broader currency. He concludes: “Most innovation in media and most of the revenue and most of the value will come not from the incumbents and not even from news startups, but from people who unwittingly stumble into producing media as the solution to another problem.”

Perhaps some of the pitches below will fall into that category: an online media-based solution to a health-related problem? Read More »

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Is the post-budget “class warfare” discussion helpful for public health?

May 16, 2012 – 7:04 pm, by Melissa Sweet
   

Have the Coalition’s Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey done public health a favour (even if unintentionally) by putting the issue of class on the table for debate?

Health economist Professor Gavin Mooney suggests in the article below that those with a concern for population health and health inequalities should not shy away from a class-based discussion.

(And, by the way, Mooney’s new book, The Health of Nations: towards a new political economy, was launched this week – see bottom of the post for more details on its analysis of how the exercise of power, in health care systems and society more generally, affects health).

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Class warfare, inequality and the social determinants of health

Gavin Mooney writes:

It seems that Tony Abbott wants us to recoil in horror that the Prime Minister is waging what he calls a class war. How dreadful of Julia Gillard! Or maybe he seeks to make Gillard seem silly in raising the issue of class in this egalitarian, fair-go society? We are all Australians. We all have the vote. Whether we are called Clive,  Gina or Twiggy or Tom, Dick or Harriett doesn’t matter.  As the song says “We are one, but we are many”. To suggest anything else is un-Australian and reeks of envy.

According to Abbott, the Labor government’s budget plays a class war card. This is because it did not follow through on the previously declared commitment to cut company tax from 30% top 29%. Instead the budget redistributes money to the poor.

How dastardly of Gillard and Swan – especially as (according to Abbott) Australia has been largely free of the class struggles seen elsewhere. He told Parliament: ”The fundamental problem with this budget is that it deliberately, coldly, calculatedly plays the class war card”. Read More »

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A local council takes on fast food: is this the future for improving public health?

May 16, 2012 – 6:17 pm, by Melissa Sweet
   

In case you missed it, there has been an interesting development for public health at Darebin in northern Melbourne – the local council is reportedly considering hiking rates for fast food chains.

It’s part of a wider move in Victoria to improve public health through local government.

In the article below, Jane Martin, Executive Manager of the Obesity Policy Coalition, says local councils are ideally placed to make a difference to their communities’ health.

(And on related topics, there is a new HBO series, The Weight of the Nation – I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet but would be interested to hear from anyone who has.)

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Go Darebin

Jane Martin writes:

Victorian councils, who are being funded to address overweight and obesity, are exploring new ways to shape disincentives around the placement and operation of chain fast food outlets.

Darebin Council recently announced that they were looking at increasing the rates on chain outlets in their community, recognising the impact on the health and diets of the community. The funds raised will go into health promotion to try to reduce the rates of chronic disease in the community.

Darebin Council has high rates of overweight and obesity, with more than half of males and more than a third of females overweight or obese in 2008.

There are also low numbers of people in Darebin meeting the daily requirements for vegetable consumption. This is giving rise to huge problems with the associated chronic disease, particularly diabetes, the prevalence of which has doubled in the last ten years. Read More »

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When will policy catch up with the science on drug prohibition?

May 16, 2012 – 2:09 pm, by Melissa Sweet
   

The previous post examined some of the health implications of Victoria’s plans to build a new prison.

In the article below, Dr Alex Wodak, President of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation, suggests that drug law reform offers a more effective and humane alternative to prison-building.

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Crime and drugs: get tough or get smart?

The Victorian Government recently announced plans to allocate $670 million for a brand new prison. Many of the inmates would be there for drug-related offences. For a country founded on 18th century Britain’s failed attempt to solve serious social problems with incarceration, Australia frequently forgets the lessons of its own origins.

How many more times do we have to try to solve our serious social problems with incarceration before we accept that this does not work?

A punitive approach has been applied to drugs for decades. President Nixon declared a ‘War on Drugs’ on 17 June 1971. This may have been a lemon of a policy but it really worked a treat as a political strategy.

It should not come as a surprise that punitive approaches to drugs are so ineffective. The two major definitions of drug dependence in the world include the criterion ‘continuing consumption despite severe adverse consequences’.

So should we be surprised when someone who has already lost, due to their heavy and persistent drug use, their health, family, career, housing, and financial security continues to use drugs despite yet another savage prison sentence?

Many leading police and politicians now admit that the War on Drugs has failed comprehensively. Yet governments in many countries, including Australia, allocate 75% of expenditure in response to drugs to drug law enforcement (such as customs, police, courts and prisons). The Howard Government even branded its policy ‘Tough on Drugs’.

Identifying any benefits of drug law enforcement is difficult but the many and major harms of a punitive approach are all too obvious. The scientific debate about drug prohibition is now over although the political phase continues. Supporters of the War on Drugs are getting hard to find. Read More »

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What are the health implications of building more prisons?

May 16, 2012 – 1:51 pm, by Melissa Sweet
   

Update, May 22: Extra material has been added at the bottom of this post about an assessment of the likely impact of a new correctional facility in Gatton, Queensland.

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Health journalists (and our audiences) might get better stories come budget time if we looked beyond the health department papers. That is one of the suggestions from an article that I wrote last week for Crikey (subscribers only).

A case in point comes from the recent Victorian budget’s allocation of $670 million to build a new 500 bed medium security prison in Ravenhall.

There are plenty of health angles to this news (and this post is the first in a two-part series examining some of these).

The Victorian Government has highlighted some economic benefits from the new prison (“the construction project is expected to deliver an estimated 800 construction jobs and 580 ongoing staff positions”), but there are likely to be many economic, health and social costs as well.

It would be useful to see some systematic analysis from a health impact assessment (HIA), considering the likely consequences for the health of prisoners, their families and their wider community, for prison staff, and for the community where the prison is to be built.

It would also be useful to hear about what role the health sector could play in reducing demand for more prisons. A recent report from the UK suggests, for example, that investing in drug treatment services is a cost effective way to prevent crime.

It is telling that Victorian Justice Department performance statement has set a higher target for 2012-13 for the average daily number of prisoners (4,950-5,220) than the 2011-12 target (4,550-4,750). It says this “reflects an anticipated increase in bed demand driven by population growth, sentencing reforms and additional police.”

This seems a little like boasting about building more hospital beds, rather than focusing on reducing demand for new hospital beds.

VOSS has highlighted some of the opportunity costs of the new prison spend, stating that “every dollar spent on prisons is a dollar not spent on programs that work – affordable housing, parenting support for vulnerable families, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, mental health programs, and education.”

Meanwhile, in the article below, Jonathan Heller, the Director and Co-founder of Human Impact Partners, a California-based NGO whose mission is to increase the consideration of health and equity in decision-making, shares a view from the US of the school-to-prison pipeline (which reads like a lesson in what not to do).

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Unpicking the links between schools, prisons and health

Jonathan Heller writes:

While most people in the United States don’t think of schools, incarceration, and health as being related, the three are actually deeply entangled.

Many advocates for low income populations and people of colour here focus on the “school-to-prison pipeline” that systematically channels our kids from public schools into the juvenile justice system for normal adolescent behaviours. Hyper-incarceration and poor education impact the short- and long-term health and well being of the individuals involved, their families, and all of our communities. Read More »

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A wrap of recent news on McDonald’s, marketing and health (and some parallel universes)

May 14, 2012 – 7:28 pm, by Melissa Sweet
   

When it comes to food and health, it seems that we are living in parallel universes.

In one universe, there is a new report from The Institute of Medicine in the US, Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention: Solving the Weight of the Nation, urging governments and decision makers (including those in the private sector) “to make a concerted effort to reduce unhealthy food and beverage options and substantially increase healthier food and beverage options at affordable, competitive prices”.

In this ideal universe, the IOM says, “healthy foods will become the most visible, attractive, and easy-to obtain options anywhere food is sold or served”.

And then we have the other universe, aka the real world.

The one where the London Olympics will no doubt do an outstanding job of promoting the brands of sponsors McDonald’s and Coca Cola.

The one where McDonald’s and friends have infiltrated children’s sport. 

The one where fast food chains indulge in “weightwashing” with the help of health and fitness organisations (as reported by The Sunday Age’s Jill Stark).

And the one where Ronald McDonald visits schools, bearing gifts and lessons about health.

Meanwhile a recent NSW study investigating just how little healthy food is sold by McDonald’s provides a timely reality check. It’s the latest “must read” article from the JournalWatch service of The Public Health Advocacy Institute WA.

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How much healthy food is sold at fast food restaurants?

Dr Melissa Stoneham writes:

With Australia’s obesity rate on the rise, and the link between regular consumption of fast food and weight gain through over-consumption of high energy density foods being clear, the authors of this article aimed to observe healthy and unhealthy meal purchases in Australian fast food stores. Read More »

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Aged care reform: it needs careful monitoring (and adjustment, where necessary)

May 11, 2012 – 6:15 pm, by Melissa Sweet
   

This is the second in a series of analyses that will be cross-posted from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library analysing the health budget (the first looked at dental reform).

(The Library will be updating its briefs across portfolios here).

In the article below, Rebecca de Boer concludes that “careful monitoring, and re-adjustment where necessary” will be needed to ensure the financing framework of aged care reforms will enable the objectives to be met.

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Aged care reform agenda is a big ask for a relatively small spend

Rebecca de Boer writes:

The Government’s aged care package ‘Living Longer. Living Better’ was released prior to the Budget as it was not considered a ‘budget measure per se’.[1]

While there is some new funding, the majority of the $3.7 billion projected expenditure over five years ($2.2 billion over four years) will be off-set by redirected funding and means testing.[2] The net cost to Government is expected to be $576.9 million over five years ($284.6 million over four years).[3]

The 2012–13 Budget details the financing arrangements for the package and the funding associated with the agencies that will be established as part of the reforms.[4]

There will be some expenditure in 2012–13 ($55.2 million) and 2013–14 ($26.9 million) but the majority of expenditure for this package will occur in 2016–17, outside the forward estimates period.[5]

In the context of what is currently a $12 billion program (in 2010–11), this represents very little new expenditure. A detailed summary of the ‘Living Longer. Living Better’ package can be found on ‘FlagPost’, the Library’s blog.[6] Read More »

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